Shoe strap



Feb. 21, 1928. 1,660,215

' A. BALLOU ET AL SHOE STRAP Filed March 10. 1927 Patented Feb. 21, 1928.

earl: an;

rnrsiu r oF-Fi'ce;

FREDERICK A; EALLou, E NAYATT, AND ROGERS '1. STAFFORD, oEEAsrfrnoVInENcn,

RHODE ISLAND, AssIGNoEs T0 B.-A.. BALLOU & co.,tINc., 0E PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, A ooEroEATIoN-o nHonEJsLANn.

SHOE s -Ar. I

Application'filed lfarch w, 1927;v Serialli'b: 174,317.

This invention relates to P anvimproved construction: ot cross strap for shoes and h'as for its vobj ect toprovide iaishoe strap of this character having an 1 attachingr member on one or both-of; itsopposite ends to be de tacha-bly connected-to the margin's'of the shoe upper, the strap: being arranged to: extend:

over theinstep of the wearer for ornamen tal. purposes, or: to: assist" in: retaining ithe shoe 1 in POSl-tlOHi-On -the foot; or both;

A further object oi the invention is to form the strap flexible"and extendible with clamping or gripping members on its oppo site ends :by 'whiclrthe device-may be-:detachably connected to the: opposite margins: of

the shoe upper.

A still furtherobject; of the invention; is:

to form the strap. of'a )lur ality of metal exewearer.

With these and other obj cats in View; the

invention consists of certain; novel 'features ofconstruction, as w ill be more fullyde scribed, and; particularly pointed out inithe appended claims.

In the accompanylng: drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective View illustrating; -1 our-improved instep strap as-applied to a shoe.

FigureQis atop-view showinggthe strap ornament with metalextendiblelinks alttached to either side thereof.

Figure=3 is an edgeviewof the metal.=:or=

nament showing the attaching: member-soniits ends to which the linksofthe strap are' connected.

Figuree is a view-showing theunder side: of: aplurality of metal links out theinstep sstrap and showing the same: having; an; at-. taching. member at one end1and'thewopposite end of this link section being attachedrtoianw ornament.

Figure 5 1s an edge" View of the! link sections shown in Figure 4, in extended posi-- tion and partly in section;

Figure 6"is a1sectiononaline-6+6 of Fig ure 1 and shows the metal strap as formed in two sections and attached to the opposite margins of the shoe upper, one end portion of each of the strap sections being connected to an ornament.

Figure7 isthe same as Figure 6 'and showlngxthemetal links as formed intoa'conseparate ornament supported thereon:

It is'often desirable by wearers of 'thatstyleaofi shoe known as apum'p or slipper, of advantageto provide a crossstrapto-extend' over F the ankle or instep as an ornament; or' for the purpose' ot assisting in retaining the shoe on the foot; and it is also often found ofparticular advantage 'to fOrmthis strap flexible: It is also found that this strap may be madewextremely ornamental and attrac tive if made of metal-and in order to form al metal: stI'flp ;Wl1'icl1- is comfortable on t-he foot it should 'be made both flexible and extendible; and it is also foundof advantageto so form= this metal "strap: that it may be readily at-tachedrto ,difierent' shoes and detached: therefrom to be applied to other shoes; A without? the necessity of providing a permanentattachment-on: the shoe which in some cases disfigures the same; i and one way of accomplishing tliis1result-is by providing; clamping memberston the strap ends by Whichthe strap may be readily connected to anddisconnected fromthe opposite side margins of'thetshoe' to exert ailexible'ten sion on the instep ofthe wearer to assist in retaining the shoeiin" posit-ion on the foot;

and the 'followingisiaidetailed description of the: present embodiment of" our invention, and showing one construction of strap by) Which theseradyantageous result's may be HCOOIIlPllShGClF- With reference to the drawings; IO 'dess ignates a. metaliistrapi which is; formed of a plurality of link units,v each comprisingtes= sentially. an outer'boxlink ll and an inner slide 'link 12, oneend of'ithe slide li-nk within the box link being pressed towards c0n'-' tracted position by a spring: 13, whereby each-link-unitis-zadapted'to receive'a sliding endwaysextensio'n and contracting action to exert ta -flexible tension over the instep of thewearer to. assistiin retaining tllBSllOG on: the-foot v Ati each end of i this flexible-chain section,- We have flexibly connected a clamping, gripping or attaching member 14, which is an extension or part of the strap, the'gripping portion of the strap herein illustrated comprising a body portion 15 with a front jaw '55 tinuouschain, all of the same size-withxm portion and in this body is hingedly mounted a cooperating biting tongue or jaw member 16 one end 19 of this tongue extending through a spring plate 17 in the body which is arranged to retain the tongue when in open position and also to exert a strong closing and gripping action towards this body jaw to cooperate therewith in clamping onto the side margins 21 of the shoe. The tongue is provided with a spur 18 so that when swung forward into gripping position it will biteinto the inner surface of the shoe and securely attach thestrap end thereto. The extendible metal chain may be constructed wih links all of he same other instances, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 6, one of the links of the chain may be enlarged if desired and made in the form of an ornament 23, the opposite ends of the ornament being provided with hook-shaped attaching members 24: to which an end link 25 of the strap may be flexibly connected, if desired.

We have herein shown an instep strap for a shoe as formed of extendible metal links with attaching members at the ends thereof but we do not wish to be restricted to this exact construction of strap as any ornamental strap having attaching members at its ends to be connected to opposite side margins of the shoe, or any ornamental extendible-metal strap which maybe detachably connected at either one or both of its ends to the shoe, will fall within the spirit and scope of this invention. I

Mention is made of our'Patent No. 1,640,- 104, dated August 28, 1927, which broadly claims this invention in its ornamental aspect.

The foregoing description is directed solely towards the construction illustrated but we desire it to be .understood that we reserve the privilege of resorting to all the mechanical changes to which the device is susceptible, the invention being defined and limited only'by the terms of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A shoestrap unit of a length to extend over the instep of the wearer and sub-stantially to the opposite margins of the shoe, a pair of jaws carried by said strap, and spur means associated with one of the'jaws to engage the margins of the shoe to assist in holding the strap in position on the shoe of the margin-engaging partsto engage the shoe to assist in holding the strap in position while permitting the strap to swing relaively to the margin of the shoe.

3. A shoe strap of a length to extend over the instep of the wearer withthe ends engaging the outer surface of the opposite side margins of the shoe, a tongue hingedly connected to each end of the strap to engage the.

innersurface of the shoe margin, and a single spur on'each tongue to engage the margin of the shoe to assist in holding the strap in position whilepermitting the strap to swing relative to the margin of the shoe, the tongue on each end being movable on its hinge to detach the strap ends from the mar gins of the shoe. J i

4. A shoe strap comprising a series of unit-s, hingedly connected together of a length to extend over the instep ofthe'wearer and over the opposite side, margins of the shoe for engagement therewith, a tongue carried by each end unit. to engage the inner surface of the shoe-margin forming with each end unit a clamp for ready complete attachment or detachment of the strap, and a single spur on said tongue to engage the inner portion of the shoe margin to assist in holding the strap in position while pcr- I mitting the strap'to swing relative to the margin of the shoe,

5. A shoe strap comprising a series of units, .hingedly connected together of a length to extend over the instep of the wearer and over the opposite side margins of the shoe upper for engagement therewith, some of said units including parts slidable telescopically on each other with a spring acting between said parts to move them to contracted position, a tongue carried by each end unit to engagethe inner surface of the shoe margin forming with each end unit a clamp for ready complete attachment or detachment of the strap, and a single spur on said tongue to engage the inner portion of the shoe margin to assist in holding the strap in position while permitting the strap to swing relative to the margin of the shoe.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures. I

FREDERICK -A. BALLOU. ROGERS T. STAFFORD. 

